JPH0324459A - Apparatus for containing liquid to be inspected - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve analyzing efficiency by providing a cup-shaped part for holding a shallow first sample container having a large diameter at an upper disk, and providing a container receiving part for holding the bottom part of a second sample container at a lower disk. CONSTITUTION:A sample disk 102 of an apparatus 100 has an upper disk 129 and a lower disk 130 which are separated at upper and lower parts and arranged approximately horizontally. A cup-shaped part 132 for receiving and holding a shallow first sample contaner having the relatively large diameter is provided at the upper disk 129. A through hole 133 for passing a deep second sample container having the relatively small diameter is provided at a bottom part 132A of the cup-shaped part. A container receiving part 132A of the cup- shaped part. A container receiving part 134 for receiving and holding the bottom part of the second sample container at the lower side is formed at the lower disk side 130. In this constitution of the sample disk part 102, the first sample container such as a sample cup 101 can be contaned in the cup-shaped part 132 as required. The second sample container such as a blood collecting tube 101A can be contained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is a biochemical analyzer that holds a plurality of sample containers containing a test liquid and sequentially supplies the test liquid to a suction position by a suction spotting means. Regarding the test liquid storage device,
In particular, it relates to a liquid-to-be-tested storage device that includes a sample disk section that holds the sample containers arranged in a circumferential manner, and that rotates and moves the sample disk section to supply the sample containers to the suction position. It is.

(Prior Art) Qualitative or quantitative analysis of specific chemical components in a test liquid is widely practiced in various fields. In particular, quantitative analysis of chemical components or formed components in biological body fluids such as blood and urine is extremely important in the field of clinical biochemistry.

In recent years, dry type chemical analysis slides have been developed that can quantitatively analyze specific chemical or organic components contained in a liquid to be tested by simply applying small droplets of the liquid to be tested. No. 53-21877, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-1843
No. 56, etc.) has been put into practical use. These chemical analysis slides can be used to analyze sample liquids more easily and quickly than traditional wet analysis methods, so these chemical analysis slides are suitable for medical institutions that need to analyze a large number of test liquids,
It is becoming particularly suitable for use in research institutes and the like.

In order to quantitatively analyze the chemical components in a test liquid using such a chemical analysis slide, the test liquid is placed on the chemical analysis slide in a measured amount, and then placed in an incubator (
Maintain constant temperature (incubation) for a specified period of time in a constant temperature machine
A color reaction (pigment formation reaction) is then carried out, and then measurement irradiation light containing a wavelength pre-selected by the combination of the components in the test liquid and the reagents contained in the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide is applied to this chemical analysis. The slide is illuminated and its reflected optical density is measured.

In this case, in the above-mentioned medical institutions, laboratories, etc., it is generally necessary to analyze a large number of test liquids, and therefore it is desirable to be able to perform this analysis automatically and continuously. Therefore, various proposals have been made in the past regarding chemical analyzers that are capable of automatically and continuously analyzing test liquids using the chemical analysis slides described above (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 77746/1983). In addition, in order to automatically and continuously analyze the test liquid, a long tape-shaped test film containing a reagent is stored in place of the slide mentioned above, and this test film is pulled out one by one to analyze the test liquid. Apparatus for spotting, incubation, and measurement have also been proposed (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3 and 5).
No. 26,480). In this way, a device that uses a long tape-shaped test film can reduce running costs compared to a device that uses chemical analysis slides.
Furthermore, the simple mechanism allows measurements of a large number of liquids to be tested to be carried out in succession.

By the way, whether you use chemical analysis slides or test films as described above, in order to increase the efficiency of the analysis work, it is necessary to spot the specimen to be inspected on the slide, film, or other object to be inspected. It is required to perform the work efficiently. For this reason, biochemical analyzers have been proposed that are equipped with automatic suction and spotting means for the test liquid and a test liquid storage device that accommodates the test liquid and supplies it to the suction position of the suction and spotting means. There is. As a test liquid storage device that can supply the test liquid particularly efficiently, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-20453, a plurality of sample containers containing the test liquid are placed in an upright state. a sample disk section for holding the sample disks side by side on a circumference; and a positioning and feeding means for rotating the sample disk sections by a predetermined angle around the center of the circumference to sequentially place a plurality of sample containers at the suction position. A test liquid storage device equipped with a test liquid storage device has also been proposed.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Test fluids such as blood and urine are sometimes stored in a shallow cup-shaped container (sample cup) with a relatively large diameter, or in a relatively small-diameter and deep test tube. It may also be contained in blood collection tubes, etc. Therefore, a sample disk section has been proposed which includes both a section for receiving the sample cup and a section for receiving a blood collection tube.

However, such a sample disk section naturally accommodates fewer sample cups and blood collection tubes than a sample disk section dedicated to sample cups or blood collection tubes if they are of the same size. Therefore, when only sample cups or blood collection tubes are concentrated for analysis, it is possible that most of the sample cups or blood collection tubes are left unaccommodated in the test liquid storage device having the sample disk portion as described above. . This is extremely disadvantageous in improving the efficiency of analysis work.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a test liquid storage device that can solve the above problems.

(Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) A test liquid storage device of the present invention is a test liquid storage device including the sample disk portion as described above and its positioning and feeding means, in which the sample disk portion is , having an upper disk and a lower disk disposed vertically apart from each other and arranged substantially horizontally, the upper disk having a cup-like shape for receiving and holding a relatively large diameter and shallow first sample container. The bottom of the cup-shaped portion is provided with a through hole for passing a relatively small diameter and deep second sample container, while the lower disk is provided with a bottom portion of the second sample container. It is characterized in that a container receiving part is formed to receive and hold the container from the side.

In the sample disk portion having the above configuration, the first sample container such as the sample cup can be accommodated in the cup-shaped portion as needed, or the first sample container such as the sample cup can be held by the through-hole at the bottom of the cup-shaped portion and the container receiving portion. It is also possible to accommodate a second sample container such as the blood collection tube.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a test liquid storage device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
0, and FIG. 2 shows a biochemical analyzer 1 equipped with this test liquid storage device. First, the biochemical analyzer 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. This biochemical analyzer 1 is equipped with a transparent lid 2, and when the lid 2 is opened, the test liquid described below, a long tape-shaped test film 3, etc. are accommodated in the device 1, and the lid 2 is opened. It is designed to be taken out. This device 1 includes, for example, serum.
A sample disk section 102 that accommodates a sample cup 10l containing a liquid to be tested such as urine and test tube-shaped blood collection tubes 1OIA arranged on the circumference, and a sample disk section 102 arranged inside this sample disk section 102, A test branch storage device lOO is provided, which has a centrifugal separator 104 that holds a centrifugal separation cup 103 containing blood, etc. and performs centrifugation, and the test liquid stored here is transferred to the suction chamber described later. It is taken out by the spotting means 5 and spotted on the long test film 3.

The long test film 3 contains a reagent that exhibits a color reaction with only the specific chemical component or solid component to be measured in the test liquid, and there are multiple types of reagents depending on the measurement item. A long test film 3 is prepared. The unused portion of the long test film 3 is wound in a film supply cassette 18, and the portion used for the above measurement is wound in a film winding cassette 19.

Also, the reels 18a,
Each long test film 3 is placed in the center of 19a.
Holes 18b, 19b are provided for engaging the rotating shaft of a motor for pulling out the film 3 from the film supply cassette 18 and winding it up therein after the film 3 has been accommodated in the device 1. The long test film 3 is in the cassette 18,
It is housed in the device 1- in a state where it is housed in the device 19.

Film supply cassette l8 and film winding cassette 19
and are separated as shown in FIG. Also,
In order to be able to carry out a'llll determination for a plurality of items at the same time using this device 1, the dried film storage means 6 is configured to be able to store unused portions of a plurality of long test films 3 in parallel. There is.

The suction spotting means 5 has a suction spotting nozzle 7 at its tip, is moved along the rail 8 by a moving means 9 placed on the rail 8, and sucks the test liquid from the test liquid storage device 100. , and is spotted onto the long test film 3 pulled out from the test film storage means 6 as will be described later.

The moving means 9 is also configured to move the suction spotting means 5 in the vertical direction, and when the suction spotting means 5 is moved along the rail 8 by the moving means 9, the suction spotting means 5 is moved vertically. The means 5 is in an elevated position, and is lowered during suction and spotting of the liquid to be tested, and during cleaning to be described later.

A nozzle cleaning section 10 is arranged between the test film storage means 6 and the test liquid storage device 100 in close proximity to both. After the suction spotting nozzle 7 spots the test liquid on the test film 3, it is cleaned in the cleaning section 10 and is reused for the next spotting.

The test film 3 on which the test liquid has been spotted is incubated in an incubator as described later, and
Thereafter, the optical density of the film 3 is measured by photometric means.

Control of the operation of the entire device 1, processing of measurement data, etc. are performed by the circuit section 11 and the computer l2 connected to this circuit section 1l.
This is done by The operation/display section 13 provided on the front side of the circuit section 11 is equipped with a power switch for the device 1, an ammeter for monitoring the current consumption in the device 1, and the like. The computer 12 includes a keyboard 14 for giving instructions to the device 1, a CRT display 15 for displaying auxiliary information for instructions, measurement results, etc., a printer 16 for printing out the measurement results, and a computer for giving various instructions to the device 1. It is composed of a floppy disk drive device 17 that drives a floppy disk for storing commands, measurement data, etc.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3 showing the planar shape of the peripheral portion of the test liquid storage device 100, the outline of the test liquid storage device 100 will be explained. The test film storage means 6 is configured such that the spotting positions 22 of all the test films pulled out from therein are arranged in a straight line, and furthermore, the nozzle cleaning section 10 and the test film storage device are located on this straight line. Three test liquid suction positions P indicated by diagonal lines in 100 are arranged.

The test liquid storage device 100 has a sample disk section 102 that holds a sample cup 101 containing a test liquid and a blood collection tube 101A arranged on two concentric circumferences. This sample disk portion 102 is rotated by a drive system to be described later in the direction of arrow A by a predetermined angle, and the blood collection tube 101A on the outer periphery or the sample cup 101 on the inner periphery is sequentially positioned at the suction position P. In addition, in the test liquid storage device 100, the sample disk section 10
The centrifugal separation section 104 disposed inside the 2 is capable of holding, for example, four centrifugal separation cups 103 on a circumference concentric with the two circumferences, and by rotating at high speed, Body fluid (for example, whole blood) in centrifugation cup 103
Centrifuge. Further, after the centrifugation is completed, the centrifugal separation section 104 is rotated by a predetermined angle in the same manner as the sample disk section 102 to sequentially position the centrifugal separation cup 103 at the test liquid suction position P. That is, when whole blood is centrifuged, plasma or serum floats to the top and blood clots sink to the bottom, but according to the present storage device 100, the plasma or serum, which is the liquid to be tested, is separated from the blood clots and placed in a separate container. It can be taken out by the suction spotting means 5 without being transferred. It is preferable that each sample cup 101, blood collection tube toi A, and centrifugal separation cup 103 be covered with a lid so that the lid is removed when each is placed at the suction position P.

The suction spotting means 5 is moved along the rail 8 by a moving means 9 mounted on the rail 8, sucks the liquid to be tested from the suction position P, and deposits it on the spotting position 22 on the long test film. do.

FIG. 4 shows a main part of a cross section taken along the line xx' in FIG. 3, and the analysis of the test liquid will be explained below with reference to FIG. The long test film 3 is stored in a film supply cassette {8 and a film winding cassette 19
The device is loaded into the device while the device is still housed in the device. The film supply cassette 18 is housed in a cold storage 50 whose interior is temperature-controlled at, for example, 4°C. On the other hand, film winding cassette l9
is accommodated in the winding chamber 5l. If the unused portion of the long test film 3 is stored in the film supply cassette 18 in this way, the unused long test film 3 can be stored in the cold storage 50 without being touched. The cold storage 50 is surrounded by a cold storage wall 50a using a heat insulating material.

A cooling/dehumidifying device 58 for keeping the inside of the cold storage 50 at a predetermined low temperature and low humidity is attached to one side of the cold storage wall 50a, and a fan 60 circulates the air inside the cold storage 50.

When the film supply cassette l8 and the film winding cassette 18 are housed in the cold storage 50 and the winding chamber 5l, respectively, as described above, the reel 19 of the film winding cassette 19
A rotating shaft of a winding motor 53A provided in the winding chamber 51 engages with the hole 19b of a. And this motor 53
By the rotation of A, the long test film 3 is pulled out from the film supply cassette l8 through the outlet 50b of the cold storage 50 and wound into the film winding cassette 19. On the other hand, a rotation shaft of a motor 53B for rewinding the film 3 is engaged with a hole 18b provided in the center of the reel 18a of the film supply cassette l8.

Film supply cassette l8 and film winding cassette 19
An incubator 55 is disposed in the exposed part of the long test film 3 between the two, and an incubator 55 is arranged to hold the film 3 therein and allow the film 3 to pass therethrough one after another. A photometry section 57 is arranged to measure optical density due to a color reaction with a liquid.

The long test film 3 is intermittently fed to the left in the figure by the rotation of the motor 53A. When the film 3 is fed, the upper lid 55a of the incubator 55 rises in the direction of arrow B. When the long test film 3 stops, the top! !
55a descends in the direction of arrow C to press and fix the film 3. Next up:! The shutter 54 that was blocking the nozzle insertion hole 55b of 55a moves to the right in the figure, and then the nozzle 7 descends, and the test liquid passes through the nozzle insertion hole 55a and is spotted on the long test film 3. It will be worn. Furthermore, the shutter 54 moves to the left to open the nozzle insertion hole 55.
b to prevent air from entering and exiting between the inside and outside of the incubator 55, and maintain the inside of the incubator at a predetermined temperature (for example, 37° C.). The part of the film on which the liquid to be tested has been applied and developed (the part indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 4) is kept at a constant temperature in the incubator 55 for a predetermined period of time (for example, 4 minutes). After or during the incubation, the optical density of the spotted portion of the long test film 3 is measured by the photometer 57. This density measurement involves irradiating the film 3 with light containing a preselected wavelength emitted from the light irradiation means 57a,
This is done by detecting the reflected light from the film 3 with the photodetector 57b.

When the spotting, incubation, and measurement of one liquid to be tested are completed in this way, the next liquid to be tested can be spotted. Immediately before spotting for the next analysis, the long test film 3 is transferred so that the part of the film to be used for the next analysis comes to the spotting position 22.

By the way, in this biochemical analyzer 1, since the test liquid storage device 100 is equipped with a centrifugal separation means as described above,
After centrifugation is completed, the test liquid (serum, plasma, etc.) obtained by centrifugation can be directly suctioned from centrifugation cup 103 by suction spotting means 5 without transferring to a sample cup. Therefore, in an emergency, when it is necessary to perform centrifugation quickly and supply the sample to be inspected to the suction point destination 5, the centrifugal separation cup 103 containing the branched object before centrifugation may be used. The centrifuge section 104
When loaded, the necessary test points can be automatically supplied to the suction spotting means 5, greatly improving work efficiency. Next, with reference to FIG. 1, this test liquid storage device 100 will be described in detail.

A motor board 1. 12 are connected. A spacer 113 and vibration isolating rubber 114 are arranged around the bolt ill between the pedestal 110 and the motor board 112. The motor board 112 has a DC
A centrifugal separation motor 115 such as a brushless motor is fixed. The drive shaft 116 of this centrifugal separation motor 1{5
, the rotation axis 11 at the center of the cup holding disk 117 is shown.
8 are integrally fixed.

For example, four cup receivers 119 are attached to the cup holding disk 117 at equal angular intervals around the rotating shaft 11g. Each of these cup holders 119 is attached to the cup holding disk 117 so as to be swingable about a shaft 120 . Further, a holder 1 is attached to a substrate 122 fixed to the pedestal 110 via a connecting member 121.
23 holds an annular vibration isolating rubber 124. The vibration isolating rubber 124 has a higher hardness than the vibration isolating rubber 114 described above, and its central circular hole portion fits into the upper end of the centrifugal separation motor 115 to hold the motor 115.

On the other hand, the substrate 122 has a substantially cylindrical holding member 125.
A substantially cylindrical holding member 127 is rotatably held via a bearing 126. This holding member 127 includes a substantially cylindrical sample disk support plate 12.
8 is fixed. This sample disk support plate 12
A sample disk section 102 is placed on the upper surface of the sample disk 8 .

Next, the sample disk section 102, which is a feature of the present invention, will be explained in detail. As shown in detail in FIG. 5, in the sample disk section 102, a substantially annular upper disk l29 and a substantially annular lower disk 130 are arranged parallel to each other via several stays 131. It becomes connected. In this sample disk section 102, both disks 129 and 130 are horizontal, and their centers are the center D of the drive shaft 11B of the centrifugal motor 115.
The sample disks are set on the sample disk support plate 128 so that they are aligned with each other.

The sample cup 101 as a first sample container is
It is passed from above into a circular hole provided in the upper disk 129, and is held by the upper disk 129 by receiving the flange portion 101F on the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the circular hole. On the other hand, blood collection tube Lot A, which serves as a second sample container and is disposed closer to the outer periphery of the disk than these sample cups 101, is held on the upper disk 129 as shown in FIG.

That is, this upper disk 129 includes the blood collection tube 101A.
A cup-shaped portion 132 that tightly receives the sample cup 101 having a larger diameter and shallower than that of the cup-shaped portion 132 is formed, and a circular through hole 133 is formed in the bottom 132A of the cup-shaped portion 132.
is provided. A container receiving portion 134 is formed on the upper surface of the lower disk 130 and projects into a substantially cylindrical shape, aligned with the center of the cup-shaped portion 132 . Blood collection tube with a smaller diameter and deeper than the Zamburu Cup 101 1. OIA is
By passing it through the through hole ↓33, which has a slightly larger diameter than that, and fitting the bottom part into the container receiving part 134,
It is held in this sample disk section 102. Further, it is also possible to accommodate the sample cup 101 in the cup-shaped portion 132 having the above-described shape, if necessary.

Also, the stay 131 has its upper end connected to the upper disk 129.
It is fixed to the upper disk 129 by inserting it into the base 135 formed at the upper end and screwing the female thread 131 a formed at the upper end into the male thread 136 . Then, by inserting the lower end of this stay 131 into the base 37 formed on the lower disk 130 and screwing the bolt 138 into the female thread 131b formed at the lower end, the stay 131 and the lower The side disk 130 is integrated. If the structure is such that the upper disk 129 and the lower disk 130 are integrated, the height of the sample disk section 102 can be freely adjusted by preparing several types of stays with different lengths. becomes. Therefore, several types of blood collection tubes 101A with different depths are used.
In either case, the sample disk can be accommodated in the sample disk section 102 with its upper end position kept constant.

Holding member {2 to which the sample disk support plate 128 is fixed
A gear 140 is fixed to 7. and pedestal 11
A positioning feed remoter 141, which is a pulse motor, is fixed to the lower side of 0. Drive shaft 1 of this motor 141
42 is a gear 14 that extends upward and is fixed at its tip.
3 meshes with the gear 140 mentioned above. Therefore, if the drive of this positioning feed remoter 141 is controlled by the control circuit 144 and the drive shaft 142 is rotated by a predetermined amount, the sample disk part 102 will be rotated by a predetermined angle together with the sample disk support plate 128, and the sample container will be rotated by a predetermined angle. Sample cup 101 or blood collection tube 101 A
can be placed at the suction position P described above. As explained above, in this embodiment, the positioning feed motor 141
and gears 140 and 143 and sample disk support plate 12
8 constitutes a sample container positioning and feeding means.

The centrifugal separator 104 also sequentially moves each centrifugal separation cup 103 to the suction position P after the centrifugation is completed. When moving to the suction position P, the driving force of the positioning feed motor 141 is transmitted to the drive shaft 116 of the centrifugal motor 115, so that the cup holding disk 117 is rotated by a predetermined angle. FIG. 6 shows the planar shape of the driving force transmission mechanism, and the driving force transmission mechanism will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 as well. Note that the operation of sequentially moving the sample containers to the suction position P for both the centrifugal separation section 104 and the sample disk section 102 will be referred to as a "feeding operation" hereinafter. A gear 145 is fixed to the drive shaft 142 of the positioning feed remoter 141, and a gear 146 meshes with the gear 145.

The gear 14B is rotatably held by a swinging member 147. Since the swinging member 147 can swing freely around the drive shaft 142, the gears 145 and 14B maintain their meshing state no matter how the swinging member 147 swings. Further, a rubber roller 148 is fixed to the gear 146 coaxially therewith, and a centrifugal separation motor 11
A transmission disk 149 is fixed to the drive shaft 11B of No. 5 so that its circumferential surfaces face the rubber roller 148. A driving piece 151 is connected to the swinging member 147 via a spring 150. This drive piece 151 is fixed to a drive shaft 153 of a rotary solenoid 152.

When the rotary solenoid 152 is demagnetized, the drive piece 1.51 is at the position indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. The piece 151 swings to the position indicated by the solid line in the figure. Therefore, the swinging member 147 swings counterclockwise in the figure around the drive shaft 142, and the circumferential surface of the rubber roller 148 comes into pressure contact with the circumferential surface of the transmission disk 149.

When the drive shaft 142 of the positioning feed motor 141 is rotated by a predetermined amount in this state, the rotation causes the gears 145 and 146 to
The transmission is transmitted to the drive shaft Il6 of the centrifugal motor {15 through the rubber roller 148 and the transmission disk 149, and the cup holding disk 117 rotates 90 degrees at a time, so that the centrifugal cups {03 held therein are sequentially rotated. The suction position P
will be distributed. Of course, when the centrifugal separation motor 115 is rotated at high speed to centrifuge whole blood or the like, the rotary solenoid 152 is demagnetized and the rubber roller 148 is separated from the transmission disk 149.

The driving force transmission mechanism having the structure described above has a simple configuration and can reliably transmit the driving force, and is advantageous in terms of reducing the size and weight of the branch storage device 100 to be inspected and improving reliability. be.

As described above, in this embodiment, the positioning feed remoter 141 moves the centrifugal separation section 1 together with the sample disk section 102.
A feeding operation is also performed at 04.

A position sensor 154 is provided outside the transmission disk 149 to control the stop position of the centrifugal separation cup 103 during the feeding operation (see FIG. 1).

The sample cup 101 and the blood collection tube 1 . This prevents moisture from evaporating from the OIA and also from the contents in the centrifugal separation cup 103, and also prevents foreign matter from entering the centrifugal separation section 104 when it is rotated at high speed for centrifugation, causing an accident. Sample Cup 101
, an upper lid 160 that covers the entire blood collection tube 101A and centrifugal separation cup 103 is provided. Next, referring to FIG. 7 in addition to FIG. 1, the structure of this upper lid {60 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, the upper lid 160 has openings 161 at positions overlapping with the three suction positions P described above, each having a size that allows the suction spotting nozzle 7 to enter. Further, a shaft introduction part 162 is formed on the side of the upper lid 160. A bearing hole 1.64 is formed in this shaft introduction part 1B2, and the bearing hole 1.64 is opened in the end face 163 of the side part over the entire length.
A notch 165 is provided from 3 to the inside of the upper lid. Further, on the side opposite to the shaft assembly portion 162, a slide plate 16 extending in the radial direction of the approximately circular upper lid 160 is provided.
6 is formed, and in this slide groove 16B, the groove 16
A lock pin 187 that is slidable along 6 is housed.

A handle 169 is fixed to this lock bin 187 via a communication member 16B. Further, the upper lid 160 is formed with a hole 170 which is continuous with the slide groove 166 and opens to the upper lid upper surface 60A.
It is within 70. In addition, the lock pin 1B7 is moved to the upper lid circumferential side (to the left in Fig. 1) by the coil spring 171.
energized. Lock pin 1 biased in this way
07 assumes a locked position in which the tip slightly protrudes from the end surface 172 of the upper lid 160 unless an external force is applied thereto.

This locked position is defined by the communication member 168 abutting against the wall surface of the hole 170.

On the other hand, a holding shaft 173 is fixed to the main body side of the biochemical analyzer 1 in a horizontally extending state. Both ends of this holding shaft 173 are held by bearings 174, and a collar portion 175 having a larger diameter than this shaft 178 is formed in the center thereof. This collar portion 175 is fixed to the holding shaft 173 using, for example, a spring pin. A retaining hole 177 is formed in the chassis 176 of the biochemical analyzer 1.

When assembling the upper lid 160 to the test liquid storage device 100, the holding shaft 173 is received from the circumferential side in the bearing hole 184 opened in the end surface 163 as described above.
The shaft assembly portion 162 is assembled to the holding shaft 173. At this time, the collar portion 175 is accommodated within the notch 165. This notch 165 is slightly wider than the collar part 175, so when the notch 165 and collar part 175 are combined as described above, the mounting position of the upper lid 160 ( The vertical position in FIG. 7) is accurately set at a predetermined position. Accurately determining the mounting position of the upper lid 160 in this manner is important in aligning the three openings tet with the suction position P. M on top of this
160 can be easily removed for cleaning, maintenance and inspection of the test liquid storage device 100, but the mounting position is accurately defined in the same manner as described above even when it is subsequently reinstalled.

In order to finely adjust the mounting position of the upper lid 160, it is preferable that the collar portion 175 is configured to be movable along the holding shaft 173 and fixed at any desired position.

Further, in order to allow fine adjustment of the mounting position of the upper lid 160 in the left-right direction in FIG. 7, it is preferable that the bearing 174 be constructed so that the mounting position in this direction can be adjusted by a slight amount.

Since the centrifugal separator {04 is disposed below the center of the upper lid 160, it is virtually impossible to form a holding mechanism in the center of the upper lid 160. Therefore, the holding mechanism for the upper lid 160 has to be provided on the side thereof, but if this holding mechanism is structured as described above, the mounting position of the upper lid 160 can be accurately defined at a predetermined position.

On the other hand, in order to lock the upper iteo in the closed state, that is, in the horizontal state, push the handle 169 toward the holding shaft 173, push the lock pin 167 against the biasing force of the coil spring 171, and press the tip of the lock pin {67 It is sufficient to arrange the upper lid 160 horizontally with the handle 169 positioned inward than the upper lid end surface 172, and then release the handle 169. that way,
The tip of the lock pin 167 biased by the coil spring 171 enters the engagement hole 177, and the top cover 160 is locked in a horizontal state. When releasing the locked state and opening the upper M160, the handle 1B9 may be pushed toward the holding shaft 173 in the same manner as described above.

When closing or opening the upper Mteo,
It is natural to operate B2 by pressing it against the holding shaft 173, so if you hold the handle 169 and operate it at that time, the lock pin 167 will naturally be moved to perform locking or unlocking operations. . Therefore, this locking operation and unlocking operation can be performed smoothly and easily during the opening/closing operation of the top cover 160. Note that the upper lid 160 may be provided with a shutter for opening and closing the opening 161, as shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-310647 filed by the present applicant.

Next, the operation of the test liquid storage device 100 will be explained. When the centrifugal separation cup 103 containing whole blood or the like is attached to the centrifugation section 104, the rotary solenoid 152 is demagnetized, and the centrifugal separation motor 115 moves the cup holding disk 117 at a high speed of about 10,000 rpm. It is rotated for a predetermined period of time and centrifuged. In FIG. 1, the cup receiver 119 is shown on the right side and left side of the center of the cup holding disk 117 when the disk 177 is at rest and when it is rotating, respectively. As shown, cup retaining disc 117
When the centrifugal separation cup 103 is rotated at high speed, the cup receiver 119 swings around the shaft 120 so that the bottom of the centrifugal separation cup 103 faces outward, and the whole blood, etc. contained therein is centrifuged. . After the centrifugation is completed, the centrifugation cup 103
When taking out a test liquid such as serum from the rotary solenoid 152, the rotary solenoid 152 is energized.

Further, the drive of the centrifugal motor 115 is stopped, and the positioning feed remoter 141 is driven, and the cup holding disk 117 is moved 90'' at a speed of about 20 to 50 rpm.
rotated by increments. In this way, the centrifugal separation cup 103 containing the centrifuged test liquid is sequentially sent to the suction position P, and the test liquid is sucked by the above-mentioned suction spotting means 5. Note that when the centrifugal separator 104 is rotated as described above by the positioning feed remoter 141,
The sample disk section 102 also rotates together.

As mentioned above, the centrifugal separation motor 115 is connected to the pedestal 110.
The upper part is attached to the housing via a relatively soft vibration isolating rubber 114, and the upper part is held through a relatively hard vibration isolating rubber 124. Therefore, when the motor 115 rotates at high speed for centrifugation, even if vibration occurs due to weight imbalance in the cup holding disk 117, the vibration isolating rubber 124 is bent relatively small and the vibration isolating rubber 114
Since it is deflected relatively largely, this vibration is prevented from being transmitted to the pedestal 110 side. Also, centrifugal separation motor 115
When the drive shaft 11B is rotated by the positioning and feeding remoter 141 for the feeding operation, the centrifugal separation motor 115 is reliably held in a predetermined posture by the relatively hard anti-vibration rubber 124. Therefore, the centrifuge cup 103
is placed at a predetermined suction position P with high precision.

Further, when the liquid to be tested is taken out from the sample cup 101 containing the sample to be tested or from the blood collection tube lot A, the rotary solenoid 152 is demagnetized and the positioning and feeding remote 141 is driven.

Therefore, only the sample disk portion 102 is rotated by a predetermined angle at low speed via the sample disk support plate 128, and the sample cup 101 or blood collection tube 101A is sequentially sent to the suction position P. In addition, in the feeding operation by the positioning feed motor 141, the centrifugal separation cup 1
03, the inner sample cup 101, and the outer blood collection tube 1.01A, each feed amount is different, but this feed amount is controlled as shown in Figure 2. This is performed by the computer 12 based on the input to the keyboard 14 shown.

In this way, in the present test liquid storage device 100, the sixth
Using the clutch mechanism shown in the figure, it is possible to transmit the driving force of one positioning feed remoter 141 to the centrifugal separation section 104 and the sample disk section 102.
The apparatus only needs to be provided with one positioning feed motor 141 in addition to the centrifugal separation motor H5, and the entire drive system can be simplified.

As shown in FIG. 1, the blood collection tube 101A used in the present device 1 has a barcode label {80 affixed to a portion of its circumferential surface. This barcode label 180 usually includes the name of the subject, items to be analyzed, etc.
A barcode 181, which is an identification symbol indicating information (ID information) regarding the liquid to be tested, is written thereon. The barcode 11iL of the blood collection tube 101A placed at the test liquid suction position P as described above is read by the barcode reader {82. Barcode 181 that received this reading
The ID information indicated by the CRT display 15 (first
(see figure), and is transmitted to a control means (not shown) that controls the movement of the suction spotting means 5, and the precepts to be inspected are spotted and supplied to the long test film 3 according to the measurement item. Ru. Note that this barcode 18l is read using the blood collection tube 101A placed at the test liquid suction position P as described above.
In addition to sequential readings, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 63-302773 filed by the present applicant, prior to the analysis, the sample disk portion 102 was rotated once and reading was performed on all the blood collection tubes 101A. ID
It is also possible to temporarily store the information in memory.

Here, when using the barcode label 180 as described above, each blood collection tube 101A is set in the sample disk unit 102 with the barcode label 180 affixed thereon facing outward. There is a need to. Therefore, in the present branch-to-be-tested storage device 100, as shown in FIG. 8, an index 183 is formed on the upper surface of the upper disk 129 of the sample disk section 102 to indicate the orientation of the barcode label 180. This indicator 183 is
A predetermined portion of the thin raised portion 184A or 184B formed to surround the upper end of the cup-shaped portion 132 described above is formed by, for example, being colored. The indicator 183 of this embodiment has a predetermined width W,
This width W indicates the label reading range by the barcode reader 182.

When setting the blood collection tube 101A on the sample disk section 102, the operator places the barcode 181 in a range facing the width W of this index 183,
Set the direction of A. Place each blood collection tube 10 in such an orientation.
If 1A is set, barcode reader 182
All barcode readings can be performed reliably.

In addition, in order to accurately know the analysis result of each test liquid without mistaking it for other test liquids, it is necessary to
It may be necessary to correctly know which blood collection tube 101A is set in which cup-shaped portion {32 of 2. Therefore, each cup-shaped portion 132 is numbered, but in this embodiment, on the raised portion 184A or 184B formed for each cup-shaped portion 132,
Numbered above. Therefore, for example, referring to FIG. 8, even if the number "1" is attached to the middle part of the two cup-shaped parts 132, this number "1" is written inside the raised part 184A. From this, it can be clearly seen that this raised portion 184A relates to the surrounding cup-shaped portion 132.

Note that the above-mentioned indicator 183 also indicates the barcode reading range by its width W, but the barcode reading range is not particularly indicated, such as the indicator 185 in Fig. 9 or the indicator 186 in Fig. 10. Barcode label 180
An index indicating only the direction may be used. Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the above-mentioned index is the raised portion 18.
It may be written in a position other than 4 A or 184 B.

Next, a mechanism for preventing the sample disk unit 102 from being fed while being tilted will be described. As shown in Figure 1, the sample cup lO
l and the inner wall 20 of the part where the blood collection tube 101A is accommodated.
0, the outer wall 201 has holes 202 facing each other,
203 is provided. These holes 202, 203
are provided at positions facing the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the lower disk 130 when the sample disk section 102 is correctly set. Also, these holes 202
, 203 are provided, for example, in four pairs at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction of the lower disk i30. and inner wall 200
The light emitter 20 is placed so that it faces the hole 202 from the inside.
4 is installed. Further, a light receiver 205 is attached to the hole 203 of the outer wall 201 so as to face it from the outside. The output S1 of this light receiver 205 is inputted to the control circuit {44]. Although only one set of light emitter 204 and light receiver 205 is shown in FIG. 1, similar light emitters 204 and light receivers 205 are provided corresponding to the other three pairs of holes 202 and 203, respectively. Outputs S2, S3, and S4 of those light receivers 205 are similarly input to the control circuit 144.

When the sample disk unit 102 is set on the sample disk support plate 128 in order to position and feed the sample cup 101 or the blood collection tube 101A, each light emitting device 2
04 is lit. If the lower disk 130 (that is, the sample disk section 102
) in place, all this lower disk 13
Blocked by 0. Therefore, the outputs S1, S2, S3, and S4 of each light receiver 205 at this time are all below a predetermined threshold value. In that case, the control circuit 144
In accordance with the instructions from the computer 12, the positioning and feeding remoter 141 is rotated by a predetermined amount as described above, thereby feeding the sample disk unit 102. On the other hand, if the sample disk unit 102 is set in an incorrect posture and the lower disk 130 is tilted, the light emitted by any one (one or more) of the four light emitters 204 will be transmitted by the lower disk 130. It cannot be completely blocked. Therefore, the outputs S1, S2 of the light receiver 205,
Either S3 or S4 exceeds the predetermined threshold. In that case, the control circuit 'L44 controls the computer 12
Even if a drive command is given from
1 is not driven. The analyzer operator can know that the sample disk section 102 has been set incorrectly because the sample disk section 102 is not fed even after an analysis command is given. Further, in this case, the control circuit 144 may output an alarm command signal, and a display or audio alarm may be issued based on the signal.

Furthermore, if circumferential position regulation is also required when setting the sample disk section 102, a plurality of magnetic pieces 210 are fixed at predetermined positions on the lower disk 130 as shown in FIG. may be detected by the magnetic sensor 211, respectively. In this case as well, if the sample disk section 102 is set correctly, the plurality of magnetic sensors 2
If the lower disk 130 is set at an angle, there will be a difference between the plurality of outputs, so the set state of the sample disk unit 102 can be detected based on these outputs.

Furthermore, whether or not the sample disk unit 102 is set in the correct posture can also be detected using a sensor that reads the barcode 181 described above. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the reading range is the upper disk 129.
A long barcode reader 21 that extends to the outer circumference of the
5, if the upper disk 129 (that is, the sample disk section 102) is correctly set horizontally, the output of this perco-reader 215 will be as shown in FIG.
The result will be as shown in 1). In other words, barcode 181
In addition to the signal component Q due to the detection of the outer peripheral end surface of the upper disk 129, a signal component R is generated due to the detection of the outer peripheral end surface of the upper disk 129. The time required from the start of barcode reading until this signal component R is generated is t1 if the upper disk 129 is correctly set. However, if the upper disk 129 is tilted as indicated by the broken line in FIG.
As shown in Figure 3 (2), the above t! t2 is longer than that. If the upper disk 129 is tilted in the opposite direction, the above time will be 1 as shown in FIG. 13(3).
．． In particular, if this inclination is very large, the upper disk 129 will be shorter than the barcode reader 21.
5, the signal component R itself no longer occurs. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether the sample disk section 102 is set in the correct orientation based on the time from the start of barcode reading until the signal component R is generated.

Note that when handling sample containers with barcodes 181 as described above, generally the sample disk section 102
Before feeding and operating the sample disk unit 102,
It is not necessary to input into the computer 12 the position in the throat where the sample container is housed. That is, by reading the ID information indicated by the barcode 181 for each sample container, selection of the long test film 3, etc. can be performed automatically one after another. However, in that case, it is necessary to stop all portions of the sample disk section 102 that accommodate sample containers (sample cups or blood collection tubes 101A) at the suction position P, and to operate the suction spotting means 5 one by one. That is, this is because the biochemical analyzer 1 cannot know in advance which part contains the sample container and which part does not contain the sample container. Conventionally, if the suction spotting means 5 lowers the nozzle 7 a predetermined distance at the suction position P and the surface to be inspected Mit is not detected, it is assumed that no sample container is placed at the suction position P, and the sample is removed. The disk unit 102 was controlled to enter the next feeding operation.

However, when the above control is performed, if there is space in the sample container housing portion of the sample disk section 102,
Since the sample disk unit 102 stops unnecessarily several times, the efficiency of analysis work is reduced. In order to avoid such problems, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a sample container is provided at the test liquid suction position P or slightly ahead of it (in the direction in which the sample disk section 102 rotates). When the sample container storage part that is determined by the sensor as having "no storage container" reaches the suction position P, the sample disk unit 102 is not stopped there;
It is preferable to control the operation of the positioning feed motor 141 so that the sample container accommodating portion passes through the suction position P without any change.

Next, the connection structure between the drive shaft 11B of the centrifugal separation motor 115 and the cup holding disk 117 will be described with reference to FIG. 14, which shows this part in detail.

A tapered portion 220 is formed on the drive shaft 116, and a tapered portion 221 is also formed on the lower end of the peripheral wall of the central circular hole of the rotating shaft 118 of the cup holding disk 117.

When installing the cup holding disk 117, its rotating shaft 118 is fitted onto the drive shaft 11B from above.

A male thread 222 is formed at the tip of the drive shaft 116.
By screwing and tightening the nut 223, the cup holding disk 117 and the drive shaft 11B are integrally fixed. At this time, the vertical relative position of the cup holding disk 117 with respect to the drive shaft 116 is defined by the surface contact of the tapered portion 221 with the tapered portion 220.

Note that making the cup holding disk 117 and the drive shaft H6 removable as described above means that the centrifugal separator 104
It is essential for cleaning, maintenance and inspection, etc.

Here, each cup receptacle 119 has a unique (not shown), and the cup retaining disc 117 is attached to the drive shaft 116.
It must be positioned and fixed in the circumferential direction. For this positioning, a disk-shaped portion 224 is formed on the drive shaft 116, and the rotation axis 1 of this portion 224 is
On the surface on the 18 side, a cylindrical pin 22 serving as a first engaging portion is provided.
5 and a circular bottle hole 226 as a second engaging portion. These pins 225 and pin holes 226 are provided at a distance of 180°M from each other on a common circumference around the axis D of the drive shaft 11B. On the other hand, a circular pin hole 227 as a first engaged portion and a cylindrical pin 228 as a second engaging portion are formed on the lower surface of the rotating shaft 118. This pin hole 227 is shaped to tightly engage with the pin 225, and the pin 228 is also shaped to fit tightly into the pin hole 225.
It is shaped to tightly engage with the These pin holes 227 and pins 228 also hold the cup retaining disk 117 when engaged with the pins 225 and 226, respectively.
is provided at a predetermined position relative to the drive shaft 116 in the circumferential direction thereof.

Unless the pin hole 227 and the pin hole 228 are engaged with the pin hole 225 and the pin hole 226, respectively, as described above, the cup holding disk 117 cannot be lowered to a predetermined position where its tapered portion 221 makes surface contact with the tapered portion 220. In other words, in that case, the male screw 222 of the drive shaft 11G does not protrude long enough to fasten the nut 223, so the cup holding disc 11
It can be clearly seen that the relative position of No. 7 with respect to the drive shaft 116 is incorrect. Even if the above relative positions are deviated by 180 degrees, the pins 225 and 228 will come into contact with each other, making it impossible to set the cup holding disk 117 correctly.

Regarding the drive shaft llB itself, since the pin 225 and the pin hole 22B are provided at positions 180 degrees apart, the shaft center D
The weight is not balanced around .

This also applies to the rotation axis 1{8 of the cup holding disk 117. However, the drive shaft 11B and the rotating IToll
Unless the pins 225, 228 and the pin holes 22B, 227 are properly engaged, the above-mentioned weight balance can be achieved unless the pins 225, 228 and the pin holes 22B, 227 are made of materials with significantly different specific gravity.

As a structure for defining the position of the cup holding disk 117 in the circumferential direction with respect to the drive shaft 11B, other structures such as the structure shown in FIG. 15 and the structure shown in FIG. 16 can also be applied. In the structure shown in FIG. 15, the disk-shaped portion 224 of the drive shaft 116 has first and second retaining protrusions 23 in the shape of a triangular prism.
1, 232 are provided. These protrusions 231
, 232 are arranged in the same direction and 180 degrees apart around the axis D of the drive shaft l16. The rotating shaft 118 of the cup holding disk 117 is provided with first and second triangular engagement holes 233 and 234 that tightly engage the first and second engagement protrusions 231 and 232, respectively. There is. Also in this structure, the retaining protrusions 231 and 232 engage with the engagement holes 233 and 234, respectively, only when the rotation shaft 118 is set at the circumferential position shown in FIG. 15 with respect to the drive shaft 116.

In the structure shown in FIG. 16, the disk-shaped portion 224 of the drive shaft 116 is provided with cylindrical first and second engagement pins 24l, 24.
2 is provided. These engagement pins 241, 242
have slightly different outer diameters from each other, and are arranged around the axis D of the drive shaft 116 at a distance of 1110''. , second retaining pin 241, 2
42, the first and second pin holes 243 are closely engaged with each other.
, 244 are provided. In this structure, the thicker second retaining pin 242 connects to the smaller diameter first pin hole 243.
cannot enter inside. Therefore, even in this structure, only when the rotating shaft 11g is set at the circumferential position shown in FIG.
are engaged with pin holes 243 and 244, respectively.

In the structure shown in FIG. 14, in order to bring the tapered portion 220 and the tapered portion 221 into surface contact, the pin 225
, 228 and the bottoms of the bottle holes 22B, 227, it is necessary to create some space. Since the two spaces thus formed are symmetrical with respect to the axis D in the structure shown in FIG. 14, no particular problem arises in achieving the above-mentioned weight balance.

However, in the structures shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the two spaces formed as described above are not point symmetrical with respect to the axis D. The weight imbalance caused by this can be compensated for by adjusting the distances of the two engaging parts from the axis D.

That is, in the structure of FIG. 15, the engaging protrusion 23l1
232 may be arranged such that their centers of gravity are equidistant from each other from the axis D. On the other hand, in the structure shown in FIG.
2 and the center of the engagement hole 244, it may be set at a position closer to the support center D.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, in the test liquid storage device of the present invention, the upper disk of the sample disk portion is provided with a cup-shaped portion that receives the relatively large diameter and shallow first sample container. A through hole is provided at the bottom of the cup-shaped portion to allow the second sample container to pass therethrough, and a container receiving portion is provided in the lower disk of the sample disk portion to receive the bottom of the second sample container. , it is possible to accommodate both the first and second sample containers as needed. Therefore, according to this device, no matter what proportion of the first and second sample containers are used for analysis of the liquid to be tested, the container accommodating portion of the sample disk portion can be utilized as effectively as possible to efficiently carry out the analysis. It becomes possible to do so.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a test liquid storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a biochemical analyzer equipped with the test liquid storage device, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a test liquid storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a sectional view taken along line xx' in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing in detail the sample disk portion of the test liquid storage device; FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the A plan view showing the driving force transmission mechanism of the centrifugation section of the test liquid storage device, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the top cover of the centrifugation section, and FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the top cover of the centrifugation section, and FIG. The top views of the top surface of the sample disk, Figures 9 and 10, are as follows:
FIG. 12 is a side view showing another example of the sample disk detection means; FIG. 12 is a side view showing another example of the sample disk detection means; 13(1), (2l and 3) are schematic diagrams showing the output signal waveforms of the sample disk portion detection means of FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a connection between the rotating shaft and drive shaft of the centrifugal separation portion. A partially broken side view showing an example of the mechanism, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are plan views showing other examples of the above-mentioned coupling mechanism. 1...Biochemical analysis device 3...Long test film 5... Suction spotting means 100... Test liquid storage device 101... Sample cup 101 A...
Blood collection tube 102...Sample disk unit 103...Cup for centrifugation 104...Centrifugal separation unit 115...Motor for centrifugation 116...Drive shaft 117...Cup holding disk 118...Rotation Shaft 119...Cup holder 12g...Sample disk support plate 129...Upper disk 130...Lower disk 131...Stay 132...
Cup-shaped portion 132A...Cup-shaped portion bottom 133
...Through hole 134...Container receiving part 140, 143, 145, 14B...Gear 1
41...Positioning feed remoter 144...Control circuit i60...Top lid 160A...Top lid top surface 181...Top lid opening 162...Shaft assembly part 1
63... Upper cover end surface 184... Bearing hole 165
... Notch part 173 ... Holding shaft 175 ...
・Blank part 180...Barcode label 18
1... Barcode 182, 215... Barcode reader 183,
185, 18B... Indicator 184 A, 184
B... Raised portion 204... Light emitter 205
...Receiver 210...Magnetic piece 211...
・Magnetic sensor 225, 22g, 241, 242
...Engagement pins 226, 227, 243, 244
...Pin holes 231, 232...Engaging protrusion 2
33, 234...Engagement hole D...Drive shaft axis
P... Suction position 2 Figure 3 Figure X'' Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13! ! - t3 Time Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 14 Fig. D Fig. 15 Fig. 16

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A biochemical analyzer in which a test liquid is aspirated by a suction spotting means and then spotted on a test subject to measure the components of the test liquid, which contains the test liquid. A test liquid storage device for supplying the test liquid to a suction position by the suction spotting means, comprising: a sample disk section that holds a plurality of sample containers containing the test liquid in an upright state and arranged circumferentially; positioning and feeding means for rotationally moving the sample disk part by a predetermined angle around the center of the circumference to sequentially arrange the plurality of sample containers at the suction position; an upper disk and a lower disk disposed substantially horizontally apart, the upper disk having a cup-shaped portion for receiving and holding a relatively large diameter and shallow first sample container; A through hole is provided at the bottom of the cup-shaped portion to allow a relatively small diameter and deep second sample container to pass therethrough, and the lower disk receives and holds the bottom of the second sample container from below. A device for containing a liquid to be tested, characterized in that a container receiving portion is formed therein.